Becoming, Part Two Except not
by chocolatebearturk
Summary: Abed and Annie watch something special together.


Becoming Part Two (Except not because this is 1/1)

"You know, you're taking this kind of hard," Abed said when he heard Annie sniffle for the third time. She waved her hand at him and told him to hush. He quieted, but when she sniffled again he suggested, "Maybe we should stop. You're getting awfully emotional over—"

"Quiet, he's about to say it!" she said, putting a hand on his arm. Her eyes were locked on the screen and Abed thought he could see her mouthing along with the words the character was saying.

The boy on the television screen was fighting off tears himself. "You've always…" He swallowed and said in the barest whisper, "I love you."

"Oh!" Annie squealed. She squeezed Abed's arm and brought the tissue she'd been holding to her eyes in an attempt to stem the tears."C-could you pause it? I can't—" She stopped then and covered her mouth. When she was able to control herself, she said, "I love that part so much, but it's the _death_ of my favorite pairing for this show. It's almost as bad as when Jenny died."

Abed conceded that she was more emotional a few episodes previous, but he was still concerned. No one he knew had ever reacted like that to a TV show. "Should we stop? We can always finish later."

"No, no!" Annie said. She blew her nose quietly into her tissue and reached for another. She gestured for him to play the DVD. "It's nearly over, anyway. Might as well just press on."

Abed didn't mention that they were only ten minutes into the episode, or that she was still squeezing his arm and that he knew she would squeeze harder when she heard the next part. He didn't tell her that it was irrational for her to behave this way when she had seen this episode several times before or that he was going to run out of tissues if she continued to cry. He just pointed the remote at the television and played the DVD.

True to form, Annie gripped his arm ever harder as the girl in the hospital bed called the name of a boy who was not in the room. She let out another anguished whine and attempted to control her breathing. Abed did not offer to stop again, for he knew now that she would not let him, and pretended he didn't notice when she hid her face in his shoulder. By the time the scene was over, she had pulled away once more and wiped her eyes.

"I really shouldn't act this way over Buffy the Vampire Slayer," she said with a laugh, sitting back against the other arm of the couch. "I know this is hardly the end, but… the second season was the best. It really was."

Abed said nothing. In his personal opinion, the first three seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer were exemplary works that embodied the nineteen-nineties as well as any media production could—Joss Whedon had truly outdone himself. He had never been much of a fan of Willow and Xander's relationship—he rather thought that Xander and Anya tied up nicely and Willow had seemed happy with Oz and, eventually, Tara.

These opinions, of course, were three days old. And every second he spent with Annie, the more prone he was to think that she was right. About everything. Even though it was clear that Oz was good for Willow because he was so laid back and it prompted her to let go of her worries (and the man had a beautiful understanding of words—something you don't get in television characters anymore), he was obviously wrong for her because of three words: _he wasn't Xander_. And even though it made perfect comedic and ironic sense that Xander get together with Anya, the girl who nearly destroyed his entire universe, that relationship was wrong because _she wasn't Willow_.

And Abed _really_ needed to get out of there before she convinced him that Cordelia and Angel were meant for each other. (Call him crazy, but he'd been a fan of Cordelia/Doyle, even after episode nine.) And yet… he was still there when Willow performed the spell and got possessed by gypsy magic. (Annie let out a squeal when the girl's head whipped back.) And he was still there when Spike drove off with Drusilla. (At this, Annie was practically giddy.) And, amazingly, he was still there when Buffy and Angel were having another one of their good-byes.

"Is it bad that I'm almost glad he gets sent down to hell?" Annie asked around a mouthful of popcorn as Buffy sobbed her poor little heart out.

"No," Abed said flatly. "It means a break from their melodrama. Anyone with half a brain in their skull would be jumping up and down right now."

She turned and gave him a look, but he remained seated. She just stood up, stretching legs that had been curled underneath her for the better part of an hour. She grinned and turned to him. "So! Season Three now?"

He really should say no, he thought. It was the perfect opportunity to tell her to go home and stop messing with his opinions. But he saw the light in her eyes and the bounce in her step as she turned and looked for the DVD they would want… and he couldn't bring himself to stop her. After all, it was the perfect opportunity to change her mind about which season was the best. (Even though she really was right about season two… but that was actual fact, not opinion.)


End file.
